Southampton striker Shane Long struck the fastest goal in Premier League history, inside seven seconds, but his team conceded a last-minute equaliser as they drew 1-1 at Watford on Wednesday (AEST).

And Christian Eriksen has broken Brighton and Hove Albion's brave resistance to give Tottenham Hotspur a precious 1-0 victory in their quest for a top-four finish.

Irish striker Long wrote his name in the record books when he charged down a Craig Cathcart clearance before running through on goal and lobbing the ball calmly over goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Long snatched the record from former Tottenham defender Ledley King, who scored after 9.9 seconds against Bradford in 2000.

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Former Socceroos star Mark Viduka needed just 11.9sec to score the opener for Leeds against Charlton during the 2000-01 campaign, the fifth-fastest goal in the Premier League.

Long claimed he did not know he had set a new record.

"Straight from the kick-off we wanted to put them under pressure. Ninety-nine times out of a hundred you block it and it doesn’t work but this time it did," he told Sky Sports.

"It’s nice to have a record like that, but it would have been nicer if it was the winning goal."

The draw leaves the Saints still with work to do to guarantee their Premier League survival. Southampton are on 37 points, six ahead of 18th-placed Cardiff City, who occupy the final relegation slot, with three games remaining.

It should be enough for Ralph Hasenhuttl's side, especially after 17th-placed Brighton fell three points behind Southampton after the loss to Spurs.

Southampton's Shane Long celebrates scoring his side's first goal of the game against Watford.Credit:PA

But the reaction of the Saints players, who fell to the floor at the final whistle, reflected the bitter blow of conceding an Andre Gray goal in the 90th minute.

Watford moved above Everton into seventh place to keep up their hopes of qualifying for the Europa League. The Hornets are also in the FA Cup final against Manchester City.

It had been a night of grinding frustration for Spurs as they laid siege on the goal of relegation-threatened Brighton's Australian No.1 Mathew Ryan, but were denied by a combination of last-ditch defending, poor finishing and the woodwork.

Then, as the home fans began to despair that their side was about to throw away a chance to apply real pressure to the sides immediately below them, Danish playmaker Eriksen drilled a shot low past the Socceroos keeper and inside the post in the 88th minute.

Christian Eriksen scored the winner for Spurs.Credit:AP

The win maintained third-placed Tottenham's 100 per cent record at their new stadium and took them to 70 points with three games to go, three more than Chelsea and four ahead of north London rivals Arsenal in fifth.